Chopova Lowena

For the starter: this gorgeous Khaite tulle gown in green!

This year, I’ve to embrace the spirit of coming together this holiday season and decided to create dream gift guides that might make it easier for you to go (and filter) through the festive season. Get ready for a selection of beautiful items that will spark joy and last for years. The ones that will certainly please one’s senses and deliver heavenly feelings. Treat your loved ones and yourself! Here’s the curated edit of the most covetable delights, for her, which are all about stay-at-home glamour!

Festive Red. Is there any other colour that says “It’s Christmas time!” with such confidence as red? As we wrap up 2020, now is the time to celebrate our loved ones and share tokens of gratitude with those who have enriched this tumultous year for us. Red is the colour of love and courage, and noting how difficult this year was, wear this colour and radiate with confidence, boldness and passion!

Simone Rocha asymmetric tulle evening dress, Simone Rocha crystal drop earrings, Simone Rocha silk midi skirt, Saint Laurent double-breasted tweed blazer & Prada high-shine headband.

Treasure Chest. Looking for something extra special? Dazzling jewellery coming from hot, young talents will definitely work as a unique, one-of-a-kind gift. Precious!

Sophie Bille Brahe velvet jewellery box in blue, Sophie Bille Brahe velvet jewellery box in red, Mondo Mondo gold oyster earrings, Ashley Williams heart appliqué hair pins & Sunnei rubberized pink and gold earrings.

Cute Things. Sometimes we all want to feel like a child. Go for playful and fun if you feel like someone had an especially stressful time this year!

Erdem silver earrings, Sophie Buhai velvet headband, Molly Goddard ruffled blouse, Molly Goddard knitted flower brooches set, Molly Goddard knitted flower brooches set & Ashley Williams handle bag.

Princess of Wales Checks. Though her legacy extends far beyond fashion, Princess Diana is arguably the greatest fashion icon of the 20th century. Checks have always been affiliated with festive season, but this year, with The Crown‘s phenomenal fourth season focused on early days of Diana Spencer, I feel like we will all love this pattern even more. Remember, that Diana didn’t wear checks in a boring way, though! The bigger, off-kilter and colourful, the better.

Dries Van Noten crepe de chine and satin top, Dries Van Noten wool tote & Chopova Lowena patchwork pleated skirt.

Be Bold. NET-A-PORTER Global Buying Director Elizabeth von der Goltz says Christopher John Rogers is one of the designers to watch and embrace in 2020, and it’s easy to see why. Since launching his eponymous brand only a few seasons ago, the designer’s voluminous silhouettes, sharp tailoring and unabashed use of color have already earned him a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. Rihanna, Ashley Graham and Michelle Obama are all fans. His clothes are made for wearing and celebrating!

Christopher John Rogers over-sized double-breasted blazer

Quality Time. How about making those holidays the most-pampered time of the year, as you stay at your home-made spa? Relax yourself with the finest skincare, scents and charming bling-blings…

Costa Brazil “Kaya” anti-aging face oil, Panconesi single earring, Mondo Mondo cardinal drop earrings, Diptyque “Feu De Bois” candle, Susanne Kaufmann antioxidant oil, Susanne Kaufmann body butter, Susanne Kaufmann bath oil, Susanne Kaufmann glow mask & Susanne Kaufmann enzyme peel.

Nouvelle Vague. How about a pinch of Parisian chic?

Marc Jacobs shift-style mini dress, Gucci x Liberty floral ballet flat, Saint Laurent gold earrings & Gucci over-sized sunglasses.

Modern Elegance. Need to set the bar high? Timeless elegance will score instant points with every style maven – whether we’re speaking of Rosie Assoulin‘s multi-functional knitwear or this charming Brock Collection dress. Also, Byredo‘s “Slow Dance” is a can’t-go-wrong gift!

Brock Collection bow-detailed silk-organza dress, Rosie Assoulin “Thousand In One Ways” convertible cable-knit sweater, Sophie Buhai classic earrings, Byredo “Slow Dance” fragrance, Simone Rocha beaded headband & Gucci ankle-strap platform pumps.

Like A Pearl. From top to toe – and waist to wrist – these are the modern-day, royal classics that will keep on giving, every time they are worn.

Simone Rocha beaded tote bag, Marc Jacobs boucle flared coat, Sophie Buhai pearl drop earrings & Simone Rocha pearl-embellished crossover sandals.

Miuccia Knows. Pretty much anything coming from Miuccia Prada is an investment pieces that’s always “in”. Prada and Miu Miu got lots to love this festive season for all the fans of quirky, yet feminine essentials!

Miu Miu leopard print skirt, Miu Miu glitter ballerina shoes, Prada oversized shell choker, Miu Miu nappa leather clutch & Prada logo plaque chunky headband.

She Wears Velvet. The 1990s revival means that velvet fashion is back for good. This sumptuous fabric can be elegant and luxurious, but it’s worth giving it a fashionable twist.

Sophie Buhai velvet scrunchie, Collina Strada crushed velvet longline coat, Marine Serre pink gloves,<Paula Canovas Del Vas pumps & Y/Project velvet mini bag.

Refined. Lounging at its most sublime.

Saint Laurent pussy bow sheer blouse, Saint Laurent latex-style pencil skirt, Cire Trudon Christmas scent candle, Saint Laurent pumps & Saint Laurent velvet dress.

Fashion is Fashion! Go for wild non-chalance to shake 2020’s seriousness off. Play fantastic dress-up, even if the festive evening is spent in your living room. Getting dressed makes such a difference, it’s like an attitude-boost!

Saint Laurent polka-dot skirt, Dries Van Noten cropped jacket, Fornasetti Profumi “Don Giovani” scented candle, Roxanne Assoulin earrings,Valentino Garavani floral detail shoulder bag & Manolo Blahnik “Camparicaro” pumps.

Prints Meet Prints.

Khaite zebra-jacquard pants, Gucci horsebit handle bag, Prada intarsia V-neck knitted vest, Christian Louboutin leopard print pumps & Stella Jean pop-art print pleated skirt.

Warm Season. ‘Tis the season for warmth, fine fabrics and a dash of something that makes you feel truly cosseted and cozy. We all deserve to treat ourselves with something relaxing and laid-back.

Marni exposed stitch cardigan, Vilhelm Parfumerie “Do Not Disturb” perfume, Simone Rocha floral jacquard long socks & Isabel Marant oversize hooded poncho.

Neo-Disco. With the rise of modern-day disco – think Róisín Murphy, Kylie Minogue, Jessie Ware and Dua Lipa’s 2020 records – that helped as out during the tough lockdown days, how about having an intimate disco party at your home? Turn on Madonna’s “Confessions On A Dancefloor“, and lose yourself to dance!

Paco Rabanne tie-dye t-shirt, Paco Rabanne chainmail earrings, Paco Rabanne mirror-discs midi skirt, Paco Rabanne chainmail bag & Porte & Paire leather sandals.

Colour Pop. Unpredictable colour combinations always lift the mood. Can’t go wrong with an Extreme Cashmere cardigan in bold orange or the already-cult Bottega Veneta intreciatto-weave cluth in refreshing lime.

Extreme Cashmere orange cardigan, Bottega Veneta leather clutch bag, Assouline “St. Tropez Soleil” by Simon Liberati book, Comme des Garcons skirt & Bea Bongiasca pink ring.

Some more festive gift guides are coming soon! Here are some you might have missed – cozy chic for her and “be bold” for him!

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Seeing all the favourite, relatively small, unique brands in the London Fashion Week digital schedule this season is truly heart-warming. And with less pressure of being noticed in the presentations and showrooms marathons the editors and buyers usually have, look-books seem to let that tension off. I’m following Chopova Lowena since its start about two years ago, and I must say I’m impressed how this label evolves with such confidence and thought, simultaneously staying true to its style. Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena took a gathering of their collaborators and interns outside their studio in the postindustrial docks area of Deptford to shoot their spring-summer 2021 look book. “We did it ourselves on our iPhones,” they said, on a Zoom call with Vogue as they shared the pictures. “Everyone we collaborated with is in the look book, except for a Bulgarian woman, who we found on Facebook, who made loom-beaded pieces for us.” So here are their friends, standing on concrete and cobblestones under an overpass, with a washed-up wooden riverboat in one direction, a red commuter train shooting overhead, and the vivid green shoots of untended nature springing up beneath their feet. As a glimpse of a little-seen corner of the Thames shore, the backdrop is a perfect metaphor for the designers’ youthful energy – their uplifting knack of finding beauty and romance in overlooked places, and their ingeniously pragmatic ways of re-crafting fragments of the past into ideas that young women find irresistibly wearable. Some of the Chopova Lowena girl gang pictured are Faye, a painter who contributed designs for their burgeoning line of printed jeans; Jewel, a makeup artist; Ami, who made prints based on cut-up Bulgarian postcards of dogs, roses, and Easter eggs for T-shirts; and jewelry designer Georgia, who made charms. The label is focused on building up signatures, like their accordion-pleated kilts suspended on steel climbing hooks clipped to leather belts, and developing their penchant for dresses in checks and tartans made from deadstock fabrics. All of this continues with even more exuberance and multiple-check action here. Explaining the narratives of how they source and make in Bulgaria, which is Chopova’s family home, is also important to the designers. There are lots more vintage materials from her home country in this collection. “My mum helped me clean and recondition antique wall hangings. People traditionally used to hang them in their kitchens over stoves or above their sofas or beds,” Chopova relates. Bulgarian people are willing to part with them, she says, because they don’t use them anymore. “The fabrics have a lot of baggage. They remind them of communism and folklore, which don’t have favorable connotations.” Look 1, a lovely white drop-waisted linen dress with two deep flounces, is remade from kitchen hangings embroidered with line drawings of folk tales. There’s a top made from lace doilies too. The designers now feel they want to deepen the connection with tradition and with showing the authenticity of how their things are made and by whom. “I think in the pandemic, everyone in fashion has been thinking, What is our brand’s purpose in all of this?” They learned how much their audience likes seeing stuff being made when they ran a video of artisans in Turkey marbling white denim for their new line of jeans. In tough times, their priority is to keep supporting the Bulgarian women who work on the clothes – those with the skills to produce, for instance, the deep accordion pleats that are “made with the one remaining mold in the factory, which was always used to pleat traditional costumes.” Amazing.